A Pirate's Life 4: The Sparrow's Nest
Chapter 1: The Letter
It didn't take long before the 'Black Pearl' was docking at Tortuga in the early hours of the morning. A few of the ships' crew were nursing violent hangovers but most seemed to take it in their stride. After all, what kind of pirate couldn't hold his rum?
Jack dispensed some of the men to find supplies, others stayed with the ship and some went to the 'Faithful Bride', the captain's choice of tavern.
The captain, himself of course, sauntered into said tavern and breathed in the air, it smelt of stale alcohol, dirt and less than desirable bodily fluids, but it was a haven of rum, women and gambling. He walked up to the bar and flashed his usual cokcy grin to the familiar face of Janet the bar maid.
"Sparrow, yer go' a letter," she told him before he could ask for rum. She handed him a small envelope from her girdle with a wink and carried on wiping the bar with an already dirty rag.
Jack stared down at the envelope and saw that it was sealed with red wax and an insignia of a cross. It was what his father always used and even had hanging in his hair. The very name 'Teague' typically referred to an Irish-speaking Catholic, well known throughout the Empire as a trouble-maker. He always found his father's choice of name to be nothing short of ironic.
Jack nodded to the young woman and left his crew in the bar as he pushed and nudged his way though to the back room. He pushed aside drunken men, prostitutes and small children to wrench open the huge oak door and slammed t shit behind him.
The back room was always open to the 'regulars' and since the landlady was fond of Jack and his father, the room was always open to him. It was a dank room with walls and furniture made of dark, dirty wood, and floors that were blanketed with mismatching rugs and carpets. None of the furniture matched and all of it was worn to the extreme. Tables and chairs, cupboards and boxes were scattered about the place while the stone fireplace blazed with a roaring long fire.
Jack then took up a seat by the fire, ripped open the envelope and unfolded the paper, on which he instantly recognised his father's elaborate handwriting.
Jackie,
I know you was never one for family, but I have a long standing wish for you to bring the 'Pearl' to the cove again. I left this with Janet around mid November and I hope you get it before the new year comes. She's trustworthy enough and I know how much you love the 'Bride'.
Humour your old man, boy, bring your crew to the manor, your family ain't that bad. Even your old grandma misses you, you know she doesn't mean half of what she says.
The cove awaits,
Captain Edward Teague.
For a minute Jack only stared down at the words as he re-read them again and again until he had them memorised. He could literally hear the sarcasm in his father's voice as he read the words through. But it still made no sense. Why would his father ask him to come home? Why was the new year mentioned? And since when did his old grandmother 'miss' him?
More importantly; what would he do about the letter? Should he go or not? He respected his father and the man wouldn't take kindly to being ignored if Jack decided not to go.
But if he did go he'd have to endure the old woman's company and her mad cousin who thought she had the 'sight'. Both of them detested Jack and criticised everything he did, when he was a child his 'grandmama' had almost beat him to death three times, but according to Teague, her son, this was a sign of her affection.
His mad uncle 'Ace' Brannigan, he didn't mind, the man was a push over and bad often been the source of misplaced aggression for the children in the cove. But he was a good man and a good pirate.
And 'Quick Draw' McFleming was a member of the Sparrow family that Jack actually loved, she had always used to assault old grandmama by throwing rum tankards at the old trout. His aunt was always a laugh. Her children, however were not, the 'little cousins' as Jack had called them had been unpleasant and irritating. He hoped and prayed that they wouldn't be there.
His cousin Valerie was just as bad, he had been jealous of her as a child because his father's showed her more respect than him. It seemed silly, but children always look to their parents for respect and love. Even if they were black hearted pirates.
And now with his mother dead his father was the only parent he had left. Teague was the best of a bad lot, despite his flaws he had always been there for Jack, he'd tracked his wayward son across the globe when he'd run away merely to tell the boy that he would always help him whenever he could.
He'd left the crew orders to be back to the ship by sun up so he'd wait around till then, Jack was in no hurry to reunite with his family. There was more than one reason he'd ran away from home after all.
Jack pocketed the letter and walked back into the main room, he wasn't in the mood to celebrate now, the idea of his family all in one place...with him there as well...had put a damper on his good spirits. He picked up a bottle of rum from a table on which the men were all passed out drunk and left the tavern. He saw Janet look over at him in confusion, since he'd never been in and out of the place so quickly, but it didn't matter. He'd see her again.
The dimly lit streets were full of people either passed out against the buildings or ladies of the night entertaining their customers. Jack smirked as he continued to drain the rum from the bottle he'd swiped. He made his way silently down the side alleys and and hidden passageways and through rotting gates and doorways deep within the heart of the city.
Despite the fact that he was soon feeling warm and sated from the rum Jack repeated the words from the letter again and again. It would be interesting to return to the cove again...but he'd more than likely end up regretting it when the old woman opened her mouth.
Soon he was repeating the words aloud as he pushed aside fallen debris and rubbish from street fights and dilapidated buildings in serious need of repair.
"Don't go..." he heard a voice say from his right shoulder.
"Come again?" Jack muttered and looked down at the small version of himself that had taken residence on his shoulder.
"Do go..." a similar voice from his left shoulder added.
"Why?" Jack asked himself and came to a stop in the middle of the alleyway.
"Family reunion's always a bad idea, mate," the left Jack said as he clung to one of the long dreadlocks from Jack's head.
"'E's go' a point," Jack agreed nodding his head and the two imaginary Jack's had to hold on to his hair to keep themselves from falling off.
"Yer know yer the best pirate in th' family, the old wench probably can't even stand upright any more," the Jack on the right said.
"'E's go' a point too," Jack nodded again and drank more rum. He then walked further down the alleyway and ignored any further comments made by the hallucinations of himself that resided on his shoulders, he wasn't mad - they were.
As he approached the docks he tossed the now empty rum bottle into the sea and observed the other ships moored there. Many were large galleons like the 'Pearl' but none were quite as elegant, as proud or as beautiful. One had a skeleton for a figure head, an ugly repulsive thing it was too. When compared with the beautiful, dark angel of the 'Pearl' it scurried away in shame. His dark ship was headed by the angel that protected its ship, and her captain.
Truly no other ship held a candle to the 'Pearl', for she was one of a kind, there'd never be another like her. Even the 'Dutchman', though capable of submersion, great speed and power like the 'Pearl' it just wasn't the same. Jack was almost ashamed that he'd thought about trading his lady in for immortality...almost. Was a lifetime with the 'Pearl' truly worth more to him than immortality?
If he found the fountain he wouldn't have to choose. And he would find it...one day. The map was safely hidden in his cabin where no one, not even Barbossa knew where to look for it. The man would probably come looking for it eventually, it he'd never find it. The traitorous mutineer!
Jack heard a scurrying on footsteps and a gun being made ready as he walked up the gangplank to his ship. It was Anamaria, despite the amount of rum the woman had consumed recently she was remarkably steady on her feet as she pointed the riffle at him.
"Jack, weren't expectin' yer back so soon," she said she she lowered the weapon. As of recently Elizabeth and young Will would stay with her to guard the ship, but the Pirate King had disembarked with her son several months ago in England. She said she wanted to show her son their home country so Jack had tracked down Capitaine Chevalle and they had left on his ship the 'Fancy'. That was the last he'd seen of them for 7 months.
"Tha's captain Jack, luv," Jack said to Anamaria, quietly stepping onto the deck. He smiled as he surveyed his ship, which at present was devoid of anyone except him and Anamaria his, for all intents and purposes, quartermaster / second first mate. "See to it tha' everyone's back by sun rise," he told her and made his way to his cabin.
"Any reason why?" she called after him.
"We 'ave a need ter travel up river," Jack replied with a grin and closed the doors behind him leaving her alone on the deck. Anamaria only sighed, shook her head, and continued her long vigilance.
Once alone Jack locked the door shut, threw of his beloved hat and ratty coat then tossed the letter and his compass onto his desk. He took out his maps and laid them out across the scratched surface of the old desk of the ship. Then he began charting a course to the cove, it was difficult as he wasn't sure whether he wanted to go or not and the compass knew this...somehow.
Before long the two bottles of rum that had mysteriously appeared on his desk were emptied and Jack was definitely feeling the effects. It was getting gradually lighter outside and the light was streaming through the murky windows behind him. Maybe if he just let his eyes rest for a minute...everything would clear again...so he rested his head on the map and was soon lost in strange dreams of his childhood.
